Ghana is expected to receive an ultra-modern scanner for the Accra International Airport this week through the support of the Dutch government.
The initiative forms part of efforts to strengthen the fight against narcotic trafficking through the country.
In addition, eight additional scanners through support from the Singaporean government are expected to be delivered to the country, following President John Dramani Mahama’s visit to the Asian country.
The scanners will be strategically deployed to areas considered prone to narcotic trafficking.
The Minister for the Interior, Alhaji Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak, attributed the delay in acquiring the scanners to logistical and resource constraints.
He disclosed this when he and the leadership of the Narcotic Control Commission appeared before Parliament’s Assurance Committee yesterday.
“My information from the Director-General is that we are expecting the scanner this week. That one will be at the Accra International Airport,” Alhaji Mohammed-Mubarak said.
“I’m also told that we are likely to get about eight of such scanners that will help us to place some of them at the Tema Port, Takoradi Port, and some of our other very important entry points,” he added.
The minister said existing scanners at the country’s entry points were not effective in detecting narcotics trafficked into and out of Ghana.
He noted that the new equipment would complement the work of the Narcotic Control Commission by making the detection and prevention of illegal drug movement more effective.
Alhaji Mohammed-Mubarak also said the government was expanding the recruitment of narcotic officers to enable their deployment to all 261 Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs).
He explained that only 66 of the 261 MMDAs currently have narcotic officers, with priority given to drug-prone areas.
“We are in the process of recruiting to augment the number of narcotic officers we have so that it will help us to see how we can cover up all the over 180 MMDAs. But let me say that it is not something that we can do immediately because even with what we’ve been given to recruit now, it will not be able to cover all the 261 MMDAs,” Alhaji Mohammed-Mubarak said.
The minister also urged the public to distinguish between legally approved industrial cannabis cultivation and the illegal production of narcotic substances.
He said the government had intensified public education on the country’s drug laws and dismissed suggestions that some farmers were unaware of the regulations governing cannabis cultivation.
According to him, the Narcotic Control Commission conducted more than 2,100 community engagements last year, reaching over 500,000 students as part of efforts to promote awareness of drug-related issues.
Additionally, Alhaji Mohammed-Mubarak disclosed that eight companies had so far applied for the legally approved industrial cannabis cultivation.
He further disclosed that about 1,300 applicants who sought recruitment into the various security services last year tested positive for HIV but were not directly informed.
Alhaji Mohammed-Mubarak said that instead, those who tested positive were provided with contacts for counselling, assistance and treatment, and encouraged to apply again during future recruitment exercises.
BY BENJAMIN ARCTON-TETTEY
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